Battle Scars {An Iron Man FanFic}

Chapter 17: Trouble

A/n: This is dedicated to @SkyBright ! Thanks for the awesome message :D You made my day haha XD

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Chapter 17: Trouble

Andy

"Hmm, that's not right" my nurse murmured, checking on her laptop. I sighed and turned my head, looking out the window to the view of the beach. I ignored her as she spoke quietly to herself. I started thinking about the video of my dad, Tony, and Happy; I usually drifted off to it when I wanted to distract myself. In my mind, I made a story up from that one scene. What my dad was doing before and what happened after continuously changed, from dad going on a friendly visit to a fight between Happy and Tony. I replayed Happy and Tony's movement to block off the paparazzi when the nurse patted my shoulder.

"Andrea, where is your medication?" she asked in a stern voice.

"It's Andy" I muttered, closing my eyes and wishing her away.

"Andrea" she said in a testy voice.

"Dammit, my name is Andy" I snapped; she had hit my last nerve.

"Andy!" I heard Pepper's voice call out and closed my eyes again. "What has gotten into you?"

"It seems to me like she's been avoiding her medication" the nurse said in an annoying voice, turning over to Pepper.

"What? Andy is this true?" Pepper asked, both worried and irritated. I grit my teeth and sat up quickly, ignoring the spike in pain. It became so constant that I learned to ignore it, except in cases where I pushed myself past the usual.

"I'm going out for my walk" I grumbled, leaning forward. Pepper put a strong hand on my shoulder, keeping me still.

"Andy" she said in a low voice, warningly.

"I don't need it anymore" I said aloud at last. Both gave me questioning glances and I repeated myself calmly. I shrugged myself into a lying position and yanked the blankets beneath me up and over my body. I groaned when the nurse probed the cavity in my collar bone slightly, her fingers barely making contact with my warm skin.

"Andrea, you need to be taking that medicine. It will help you heal at a faster pace. When you're asleep, your body does the most recovering. How is that supposed to happen if you can't sleep to save your life" the nurse asked, her face staring to me pointedly. I looked back out to the view of the ocean and Pepper walked over and closed my curtains.

"How long?" she asked, her arms crossed. I tried ignoring her again, which only lead to her repeating it in a stern voice.

"Only a couple of days."

"How many exactly?" the nurse asked.

                I groaned loudly in frustration and shut my eyes again. If they didn't leave soon I felt like I would explode. "Five days," I said quietly and the nurse looked at me with a shocked face. Pepper walked over to her and the nurse spoke in quiet tones. I rolled myself over, facing the window again and wishing I was down at the beach. A few minutes passed and Pepper left without sparing me another glance. The nurse continued her examination and then quietly left down the stairs. Al came in when she opened the door and leapt onto the bed.

                Minutes passed as I moved my fingers over Al's head soothingly.  I composed my breathing, my irritation slowly fading with every second. The door creaked open and Tony popped his head in, his face unhappy. Once I made eye contact, I shifted my gaze down once more and ranted quietly to Al as Tony walked in. My frustration returned at first sight.

"Where are they?" he asked angrily, crossing over the wide space to my bed.

"Huh?" I asked, trying to play dumb. He looked at me sternly and moved some things around my bed side table. He looked at me curiously before dropping down to the floor in seconds. I looked at him, bewildered, and moved over to see him on his stomach. Once he looked under my bed, he shot back up and walked over to the other side.

"Andy, where are they?"

"Who cares?" I said, closing my eyes once again.

"Hey kid, lose the attitude" he said in a threatening voice. Threatening? When was Tony ever... harsh? I looked at him and he met me gaze with confidence.

"What's gotten into you?" I asked loudly.

"What's gotten in to me is that you're not taking care of yourself" he said plainly before walking back around the bed, running a tense hand through his hair. "Look, Andy, I've been letting you do just about anything you want. You're old enough for responsibility and you got the head for it too. But- but I just need you to promise me...you'll take care of yourself. Just...just take the pills, okay?" I looked at him with a blank face and he dragged his hand through his hair again and then trailed it down his face.

"Okay. Why did you stop? Just... let me know" he said, sitting on my bed. I looked away from him and continued to pet Al's fur. He turned his head toward me and I knew I would have to answer.

"No rea-" the words came as an instinct and I quickly cut them. "Just because... I don't need them. I can get by on my own."

"Well, sorry kid, but you can't. Nurse says you had hardly any progress from last week and that your sternum has hardly healed. You need your sleep and you need to get back to your old self."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Oh you know," he said in a perceptive tone, "Melissa guessed that the burst in attitude is probably because of withdrawal. But I know you've been ditching your classes Andy." The look on my face must have been priceless because he smirked and let out a chuckle.

"So... take the medicine. You're not seen as any lower because of it. As for school, I think you know what I'd ask you to do. You have a promising future, don't screw it up. Now, where are those pills?"

                I looked at him, defeated. How on Earth could he have known that I had been ditching? I looked down guilty, once again feeling like I had let him down. I pointed my hand to the bottom drawer and he smirked as he tossed the socks from inside out of the way.

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"Come on babe. I know you don't wanna take that test today" Luke beckoned to me, holding my hand with shaky fingers. The school bell had already rung and the majority of kids had meandered their way back to class.

"I can't skip another class Luke. I got busted, no more."

"Aww come on, just one class. No one will find out, trust me" he pleaded.

"No, Luke I can't" I said a final time and pulled my hand from his. I started walking back a step and crashed into someone behind me. I turned around immediately to see the unpleasant face of Mr. Drewer.

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Editted November 6, 2013. Remember to vote and comment! Let me know what you think! :D

(( Oooooh! Andy's in troubbbleee.  ))

-Ela